Christen Me will not defend his Miracle Mile crown with harness racing trainer Cran Dalgety running out of time to have the champion Kiwi race fit for Australasia’s prestigious sprint.
The seven-year-old gelding has been struck down with a virus which forced him to miss the New Zealand Trotting Cup and Inter Dominion Championship.
Christen Me will also miss out on defending his Victoria Cup title, along with the AG Hunter Cup and Miracle Mile – he has won both of those features in his career.
Dalgety was hoping to turn his attention to the Miracle Mile (1609m) at Menangle on February 28. The West Melton trainer understands that time is of the essence and his champion pacer wouldn’t be fit enough to tackle Australasia’s quickest horses.
He seems really good and he is progressing but he’s not going to be up to race fitness in time,” Dalgety told stuff.co.nz.
Christen Me was a brilliant winner of the Miracle Mile in 2014 after wearing down Beautide in the home straight to capture the Group 1 feature in a 1:49.1 mile rate.
The gelding has missed most of the big Group 1 features having only raced four times this season.
He won the Group 3 Maurice Holmes Vase (2600m) first up in September before a half-length defeat behind stablemate Mighty Flying Mac in the Group 3 Hannon Memorial (2600m).
Christen Me would capture the Group 3 Avon City Ford Cup (2600m) before his final run for the preparation was a third-placing in the Group 2 Canterbury Classic (2600m) in October.
Dalgety is hopeful that he can have Christen Me ready for the Group 1 Easter Cup (3200m) at Addington on March 26.
The Easter Cup is probably the last one of the major races here so hopefully we might aim up at that,” he said.
Christen Me won the Easter Cup in 2015 by a narrow margin over Border Control and Terror To Love who was having his final race start before retiring to stud.
Dalgety will then consider a Queensland campaign that could see the son of Christian Cullen compete in the Group 1 Sunshine Sprint (1660m) and Group 1 The Blacks A Fake (2680m) at Albion Park.
New Zealand Cup runner-up Smolda ran second in the Sunshine Sprint behind Avonnova and fourth in The Blacks A Fake behind Philadelphia Man in 2015.
Smolda went there last year and it brought him right up so that may be an option we look at as there won’t be much else around for him,” Dalgety said.
Christen Me has raced on 50 occasions for 30 wins and 13 minor placings.
By Trent Orwin